Saturday, August 18, 2007

Guess what turned 100 years old on Friday?

The scent of fresh Pacific salmon blows as the fish are tossed above tourists' heads by the fishmongers/carnival barkers at Pike Place Fish Market. Just-picked fruits, produce and flowers emit their sweet perfume. And, courtesy of coffee brewing at the planet's first Starbucks, the signature aroma of the Northwest wafts all around.

...But the flavor at Pike Place today is decidedly upscale. And with the exception of San Francisco's glamorous Ferry Market Building, no other spot on the West Coast can boast such a rich concentration of foodie delights. - Sandy Eggo Union Tribune

Decades before the original Starbucks, salmon-tossing fishmongers and Rachel the life-sized piggy bank made the Pike Place Market an international tourist attraction, there were eight wagons filled with produce and consumers hungry to avoid the rising price of onions.

...When the Seattle landmark opened in 1907, middlemen had driven the price of a pound of onions from 10 cents a dollar. Consumers wanted to buy directly from the farmer, connect with their neighbors and socialize. A century later, it draws both locals out for a week's worth of fresh produce, and tourists from around the world.

"The market defines Seattle," said Seattle City Councilman Peter Steinbrueck, whose father, Victor Steinbrueck, is credited with saving Pike Place Market in the 1970s. "It embodies the best of Seattle - our people and our diversity." - Seattle Post Intelligencer